In the architectural appearance of the city, there are usually cultural landmarks and value dominants of the people living in this territory, studying the history of the creation of which, we can trace the cultural directions and periods of development of the city. Saint-Petersburg has always been famous for its multi - confessional-people of different nationalities and religions, including Muslims and Buddhists, took part in the construction of the city, and since the time of Peter the Great all Russian emperors confirmed their right to "freedom of faith and worship". "In the cultural life of Saint-Petersburg, the Eastern vector is based on the experience of many peoples and the fate of various people. Presented in a multicultural diversity, it gives a reason to talk about the different scenarios of integration into the living environment of urban culture, the cycles, the periods of development, allows to discover cultural universals" [1, p. 3]. On the example of the two most representative monuments - datsan Gunzechoyney and the Cathedral mosque, the article analyzes the historical material and compares the motives and ways of penetration and development of Buddhism and Islam. This allows us to see a certain logic of their existence in the cultural life of St. Petersburg and makes it possible to compare Oriental cultural phenomena. Today, the reception of Eastern cultures in Saint-Petersburg is a heterogeneous cultural phenomenon with many contradictory trends, which requires close attention and detailed study. At the present stage, it is important to develop tolerance synthesis of Western and Eastern approaches in solving global problems in the search for the successful development of the city.